Bloomberg Television · Oct 11, 2026
With Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase · Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company · Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan
Ford will commit $1 billion of purchasing to new Michigan companies that build advanced manufacturing, including the magnets and rare earths the US used to buy overseas, Jamie Dimon said.
Asked by Bloomberg's David Westin why markets have not already solved this, Jamie said they will handle a lot of it. But a company with a new invention still needs a buyer's order and a full-scale plant before it can grow, he said, and the US lost some of the capacity to provide them.
"But this effort transcends what the market does today, and it transcends what the yield curve does today. We need to be doing this for the future safety of the United States of America." — Jamie Dimon
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the program's anchor capital provider, and Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, its buyer, were interviewed on Bloomberg Television in Detroit, alongside Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, whose state is the third partner in the program, called Michigan LIFT.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 7 insights that matter.
Key Takeaways
Ford will commit $1 billion of purchasing to new Michigan companies building advanced manufacturing, Jamie said
Markets alone will not rebuild these supply chains, Jamie said
A new company needs an order and a real plant, not an experimental one
Rising bond yields do not change the plan, in Jamie's view
JPMorgan's security initiative will report numbers above $1.5 trillion at its first anniversary, in Jamie's view
A small Ford team in California out-innovated some of China's best EV makers, in Jim's view
The crowding out of capital comes from government borrowing, not AI, in Jamie's view
1. Ford's $1B Purchase Pledge
David opened by describing the program as a launch pad that matches buyers, financing and suppliers in a part of the US economy that has fallen behind. Jamie said the aim is to bring back production that was moved abroad to save "pennies on the dollar," so the US can supply itself and defend itself.
Ford is the buyer, with JPMorgan and the state behind it
"Ford's going to commit a billion dollars of purchasing for new companies that are going to be building advanced manufacturing, new capabilities, even magnets and rare earths that we used to buy overseas." — Jamie Dimon
David asked whether the companies have to be from Michigan. Jamie said yes.
A new company needs a customer and a full-scale plant
David asked why markets, which have served the US well for years, have not already solved this. Jamie said states, government and business have to work together, as they did to fix Detroit, and that the US "lost some of the muscle to do that."
"So I think markets will take care of a lot of it, but if you're an innovative company and you invented something here, you need an order — he's got to order it, it's got to actually work. They may have to build a real plant, not just an experimental plant." — Jamie Dimon
He said the model needs to be copied in many industries across the country so the US can defend itself.
